In the study of warships, the names BISMARCK and TIRPITZ are
legendary. What is not so well known are the German "H-CLASS"
battleships that were planned, but never built. This class
would have produced the largest warships in the world; even
larger than today's ENTERPRISE and NIMITZ class nuclear-powered
aircraft carriers.
By 1936, Nazi Germany was in a program of rapid weapons
construction and this lead its Navy to design capital ships that
were to be superior to any in the world. Along with its
submarine fleet, Germany began construction of two state-of-the-
art capital ships, battleships "F" and "G", which became
BISMARCK and TIRPITZ.<1> One of the primary design factors for
these ships was the depth of the Kiel Canal, which averaged 36
feet. This was the route to travel from building ways in
Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven, respectively, to trials in the
Baltic. Despite the fact that 16-inch (40.6cm) guns were
permitted by the 1936 London Naval Treaty, 15-inch batteries
(38cm) were considered more than adequate for penetrating the
armor of any ship that would be encountered. Weight thus saved
could be placed in more armor, higher speed and/or shallower
draft.
CHARACTERISTICS<2>
BISMARCK TIRPITZ
Displacement:<3>(tons)
Standard:<4> 41,673 42,343
Full Load:<5> 49,136 48,794
Length:
Waterline: 792'6" both
Beam:
Waterline: 118'1" both
Draft:
Full Load: 32'9" both
Maximum: 33'4" both
Max. Speed: 30.8<6> 30.8
Armor:
Main Side Belt: 12.6" 12.4"
Deck over Magazines: 3.7" 3.9"
Deck over Machinery: 3.2" 3.2"
Immune Zone:<7> 20,000-30,000 meters (both)
BISMARCK GUNNERY<8>
Caliber: 14.96"/52 (380mm)
Designation: SKC/34
Shell Weight: (lbs)
AP:(1) 1,763
SAP:(2) 1,763
HE:(3) 1,763
Muzzle Velocity: 2,690 ft/sec
Range: (yds)
52 deg: 45,932
30 deg: 39,589
Armor Penetration: (AP shell)
Range (yds) Side (in) Deck (in)
0 29.17 0
7,765 24.26 1.02
19,685 17.31 2.89
Rate of Fire: 2.3 rd/min
(1) Armor Piercing
(2) Semi-Armor Piercing
(3) High Explosive
A curious thing: The source in footnote 8 above, lists the
weights of BISMARCK'S shells as the same 1,763 pounds. In the
case of the American IOWA class, for comparison, the armor-
piercing shell is 42% heavier than the high-explosive shell
(2,700 pounds vs 1,900). Why are all of BISMARCK'S shells the
same weight?
Below are listed the latest class of United States and British
battleships in service on the date Bismarck was commissioned, 24
August 1940. The USS NORTH CAROLINA and HMS KING GEORGE V
classes were still building. BISMARCK and TIRPITZ clearly were
state-of-the-art.
CHIEF ADVERSARIES<9>
SHIP CLASS
USS MARYLAND HMS NELSON HMS HOOD
Displacement:
(Full Load) 33,590 38,000 48,360(1)
Main Battery: 8-16" 9-16" 8-15"
Speed: (knots) 21 23 31
Commissioned: 1921-23 1927 1920
(1) in 1940
When relations with Great Britain began deteriorating in 1938,
Germany adopted their "Z-Plan" that called for a balanced force
of surface ships with great fighting strength and extended
range. The navy estimated this plan would take ten years to
complete, that is 1948/49, and Hitler himself felt he would not
need this fleet to support him before 1946.<10> But war came
much too soon for his admirals' liking.
At the heart of the surface fleet for the Z-Plan were the six
battleships of the H CLASS, labeled "H","J","K","L","M","N".
With Hitler demanding the six be commissioned by 1944, orders
for all were placed in 1939, with the keel for "H" being laid on
15 July. Her construction was stopped, however, on 10 October
of the same year after some 3,500 tons of steel were worked into
the ship. The keel was scrapped on the slipway in 1940 to make
room for U-Boat construction which was, by then, considered more
vital to the war effort. None of the other ships were started
and the orders were cancelled in late 1939 and 1940. Despite the
cancellations, the "H" design saw several modifications in
distinct stages, beginning in 1939.
When the original design work began on this class in 1937, the
following design requirements were worked out by the German
Naval Staff:<11>
1) Standard displacement: greater than 50,000 tons
2) Armament: 8 16-inch guns
16 5.9-inch secondaries
numerous 105mm and 37mm AA mounts
6 21-inch torpedo tubes
3) Speed: 30 knots
4) Range: 16,000 nautical miles at 19 knots
5) Armor: Immune zone against the 16-inch gun at
nominal gun ranges, protection against a
torpedo with 551 lb. (250kg) warhead.
Although Adolf Hitler was fascinated by, and demanded the
placement of, huge guns on battleships, by 1939 the main battery
of the H Class was fixed on the 16-inch gun. Development work on
this gun had been started in 1934 and a complete battery of test
firings, range table firings and test salvos were done.
This obsession for larger guns reached its zenith when Hitler
ordered the H-Class be armed with 800mm (!) guns beginning with
the 1941 design. German technology was capable of building such
weapons and in fact, an 800mm gun was built for the Army's Siege
Artillery.<12> The following characteristics are available:
800mm GUN<13>
Caliber: 800mm (31.5"/40 caliber)
Shell Weight: 15,653 lb
Muzzle Velocity: 2,362 ft/sec
Maximum Range: 41,560 yds
Maximum Elevation: 53 deg
These demands lead Admiral Erich Raeder to appoint Admiral
Werner Fuchs to convince Hitler of the consequences in ship
size, construction costs and time if such an armament was
specified. These efforts were successful and Hitler relented in
favor of the 16-inch gun for H-39.
Since the Royal Navy was by now, the prime antagonist, the
endurance of any capital ship would prove pivotal in operations
since any German ship had to steam great distances to gain
access to the open Atlantic and Germany did not possess any
overseas bases. Due to its relatively low fuel consumption
rate, a diesel power plant was adopted. This arrangement brought
the added advantage of offering high performance in a short
period of time, whereas a steam propulsion plant required many
minutes to raise sufficient pressures. Large caliber secondary
turrets were contemplated for the ships, but it was found
impossible to obtain the necessary space below decks for the
servicing magazines due to the large areas needed by the diesel
engines. So, 5.9-inch secondary guns were specified.
Basically, the H Class ships were better armed and armored
versions of BISMARCK. By the Spring of 1939, distinct
characteristics had been established for these ships:
H-CLASS, 1939<14>
Displacement: (tons)
Standard: 52,643
Full Load: 65,592
Length:
Waterline: 872'8"
Beam:
Waterline: 121'5"
Draft:
Full Load: 36'9"
Armament:
Main Battery: 8 16-inch/50, 4 x 2
Secondaries: 12 5.9-inch/55, 6 x 2
Anti-Aircraft: 16 105mm/65, 8 x 2
16 37mm/83 caliber guns in 8 twin
open mounts (2 armored mounts,
6 with simple shields)
32 20mm in open mounts
Torpedoes: 6 21-inch submerged tubes
Aircraft: 4 Arado-196 floatplanes
Speed: 30 knots
Shaft Horsepower:
Maximum: 147,950
Over Load: 162,750
Fuel: 9,839 tons (10,000 metric tons)
Range: 16,000 nautical miles at 19 knots
Armor:
Upper Side Belt: 5.9"
Lower Side Belt: 11.8"
Upper Deck: 2"
Lower Armor Deck: 3.9"
H-CLASS, 1939 GUNNERY<15>
Caliber: 16-inch (406mm)
Designation: SKC/34
Shell Weight: (lbs)
AP: 2,271
SAP: 2,271
HE: 2,271
Muzzle Velocity: 2,657 ft/sec
Range: (yds)
52 deg: 47,025
30 deg: 40,245
Armor Penetration: Range Vertical Horizontal
(yds) (in) (in)
0 31.7 -
10,000 25.1 1.4
20,000 18.8 3.2
30,000 13.6 5.0
40,000 10.2 8.5
Rate of Fire: 2 rd/min
Max Elevation in Turret: 30 deg
The source in footnote 15, again lists all the three types of
projectiles as having the same weight, 2,271 pounds. The
question persists: How could an armor-piercing shell weigh the
same as a high explosive, or bombardment round?
The SKC/34 was designed with a very heavy barrel, which allowed
the gun to be "bored out" to a larger caliber of 16.54 inches
(420mm). With this larger bore the gun barrel would have been
48 calibers long. This was proposed for the later H-41 and 42
designs. The Germans preferred the twin turret design, which
had been abandoned by many other countries, because it allowed
fewer guns to be lost if a turret was knocked out of action.
Triple or quadruple turrets were more efficient in their use and
consumption of weight and space, but also required the design
and construction of more complicated machinery assemblies and
other support features and it was felt there was insufficient
time for these operations.<16>
Although none of the turrets were ever built, seven of the 16-
inch guns were actually constructed. They were fitted into
fixed positions for coastal defence purposes where they became
known as "Adolf's guns". Three were mounted in Trondenes near
Harstad in northern Norway to protect Narvik (a fourth was lost
during shipment). Taken over by the Norwegians in 1945, they
fired their last practice rounds in 1954 and were placed on the
market for sale in 1968. The other three were installed under
the name of "Lindemann Battery" near Blanc Nez on the English
Channel and probably did not survive the war.<17>
Although work on the H Class was postponed due to the outbreak
of the war, Hitler ordered design work to proceed and in July
1940, instructed the Navy to begin development on new designs.
A number of modifications were proposed based on wartime
experience, mostly dealing with increased protection in all
areas and the result were the H-Class 1940 configurations "A"
and "B."
H-CLASS, 1940<18>
DESIGN "A" DESIGN "B"
Displacement:(tons)
Standard: 54,830 62,816
Full Load: 64,575 68,906
Length:(1) 885'10" 941'7"
Beam: 123'4" 128'7"
Draft: 32'10" for both
Armament:
Main Battery: 6 16", 3 x 2 8 16", 4 x 2
All Other: Same as "H-39" for both
Shaft Horsepower: 226,850 236,700
Speed: 30 knots for both
(1) Length may be overall or waterline, exactly which,
cannot be confirmed
Design "A" was an attempt to maintain the speed and displacement
of H-39 but with increased armor protection. The Krupp Works was
hard-pressed to manufacture the 16-inch guns along with the
other ordnance for which they were responsible, so reducing the
number of guns made deliveries a bit easier. The main problem
lay in propulsion.
Increased horsepower was needed in design "A" to maintain speed
over H-39 even though the sizes and displacements were similar.
To do this required four propellor shafts, rather than the three
used in the 1939 design. Four diesel power plants were
impossible to mount in the required beam, doing so would have
reduced the torpedo protection. Switching to steam turbine
propulsion would allow the use of three shafts, but would also
have required lengthening the armored citadel to protect the
longer engine rooms and this would have increased the
displacement even more, so four shafts using a compromise of
diesel/steam turbine machinery was introduced.<19>
Design "B" was able to make use of advances in diesel technology
by using a more powerful engine that required less space. Aside
from this, the same combined diesel/steam turbine arrangement
was used as in Design "A".
Both the H-40 proposals reflected marked improvement in torpedo
protection. The primary attempt was to detonate any torpedo as
far away from the vitals of the ship as possible. The greater
this distance, the better the protection, but the wider the
beam. This was accomplished on the drawing board, by providing
as much as a 20 foot wide void, or voids, between the outer skin
plate and the final armored bulkhead protecting a vital area.
In 1941, Hitler ordered that Battleships "H" and "J" be built
immediately after the war (?) and as a result of this, the H-40
designs were set aside and all efforts were concentrated on
refining the protection for Battleship "H". Performance
penalties were accepted due to the ever increasing weight.
Wartime experience showed that improved horizontal protection
was mandatory if capital ships were to survive in a war in which
the airplane was playing a more dominant role. Increased deck
armor would also extend the ship's immune zone outward in gun
actions.
Since any large German ship had to navigate the shallows of the
North Sea, designers had to maintain a maximum draft of about 37
feet. When the directive came down to thicken deck armor for
the H-Class ships, it became evident that this draft limit could
only be maintained by trimming weight and this was most easily
done by sacrificing some fuel. By so doing, the ship's range
would be reduced from 20,250 miles (at 19 knots) to 15,250 miles
and this option was rejected by the German Supreme Naval Command
(Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine-OKM). As a result, the draft was
allowed to increase with the promise that deep Atlantic
anchorages would soon be available.
Due to these changes, the design for H-41 grew:
H-CLASS, 1941<20>
Displacement:(tons)
Standard: 62,989
Full Load: 74,799
Length:
Waterline: 901'2"
Beam: 127'11"
Draft: Full Load: 39'10"
Armament:
Main Battery: 8 16.54-inch (420mm) guns, 4 x 2
Other: same as "H-39"
Speed: 28 knots
Shaft Horsepower: 162,750 overload
Fuel: 11,810 tons
Range: 20,000 nautical miles at 20 knots
Armor:
Upper Side Belt: 7.8"
Lower Side Belt: 11.8"
Upper Deck: 3.2"
Lower Armor Deck: 4.7"
As described earlier, the SKC/34 16-inch gun could be bored out
to 16.54 inches and this modification was proposed for H-41.
Krupp said the change was slight and studies conducted with H-39
ammunition handling equipment showed the machinery could handle
the new rounds. Although greater gun ranges were anticipated
with the larger guns firing "sub-caliber" rounds propelled by
special powder, no 420mm guns were made.
Since the 1941 version of the H-Class was so much larger than
the 1939 model, speed and range would suffer if there was no
increase in power output. The OKM decided speed and range were
not as vital as protection and these performance parameters were
allowed to suffer. On a displacement of 73,815 tons, a range of
20,000 nautical miles was possible while steaming at 19
knots.<21>
The German Naval High Command was rocked by the loss of BISMARCK
on 27 May 1941 and steps were taken immediately to further
protect the rudders and propellors of Battleship "H" from
similar damage. These changes included providing the option of
jettisoning the rudders with explosives without damaging the
propellors. At the same time, naval architects were still not
satisfied with the torpedo protection thus far designed and new
ideas addressing this and underbottom explosions modified the
basic H-41 design:
MODIFICATIONS TO H-1941
15 November 1941<22>
Full-Load Displacement:(tons) 77,752
Waterline Length: 925'2"
Beam: 132'10"
Full Load Draft: 39'4"
The priority of design studies of the H-CLASS battleship was
substantially reduced when Albert Speer became Reichsminister
for Armament and Munitions on 8 February 1942. Much of the
design team was reassigned to build new U-Boats and other
projects. A new Naval group under Admiral Topp was handed the
task of making the later design studies that became H-42, 43,
and 44.
In late 1942, Hitler ordered the OKM to consider the feasibility
of building "very large battleships". All size constrictions
were removed and designs to meet the following criteria were
begun:
1) Speed of approximately 30 knots.
2) Deck armor to proof the ship against bombs and
plunging artillery fire.
3) Underbottom protection against mines, particularly
in machinery spaces.
4) Main battery caliber consistent with other design
features.<23>
The H-42 design continued the journey toward giantism. While the
main battery remained unchanged over H-41, the primary driving
force was the desire for ever-increased armor protection and the
necessary increases in engine power to drive the extra
displacements at 30 knots or better. The deck armor was now
considered of paramount importance since the experience of war
had shown the vulnerability of surface ships to aerial bombs or
plunging artillery shells (as what happened to HMS HOOD in her
gun duel with BISMARCK as well as HMS REPULSE and PRINCE OF
WALES in their fight against Japanese aircraft on 10 December
1941). The increase in displacement was accompanied by
corresponding increases in external dimensions. These were not
approached in a real ship until USS ENTERPRISE CVA(N)-65, in
1961.
H-CLASS, 1942<24>
Displacement:(tons)(1)
Design:(2) 88,578 (90,000 metric)
Full Load: 96,451 (98,000 metric)
Length:
Waterline: 1,000'
Beam: 140'5"
Draft:
Design: 38'8"
Full Load: 41'8"
Armament:
Main Battery: 8 16.54" (420mm) 4 x 2
Secondary: 12 5.9" 6 x 2
Anti-Aircraft: 16 4.1" (105mm)
16 37mm
24 20mm
Torpedo Tubes: 6 21"
Aircraft: 6
Armor:
Main Side Belt: 15"
Total Decks: 13"
Anti-Torpedo: Torpedo detonating plate 25 feet
from the armored bulkhead of any
vital area.
Propulsion:
Normal Maximum: 266,300
Overload: 296,000
Speed:
Normal Maximum: 31.9 knots
Overload: 32.2 knots
Range: 20,000 nautical miles at 19 knots
(1) Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; lists
displacements as 90,000 and 98,000 Long Tons.
(2) The definition of "Design Displacement" is unknown
To meet the speed requirement, diesels drove the outer two
propellors, while turbines drove the inner two with an overload
feature.
I am no naval architect by any stretch of the imagination, but
H-42 seems to be a lot of ship for only eight large-caliber
guns.
In 1942, Grand Admiral Raeder told Hitler that he felt even the
largest battleships would soon be outdated, and he advised
Hitler to concentrate on the building of aircraft carriers, such
as GRAF ZEPPLIN. Although Hitler agreed, he ordered his
industry leaders to look into the possibility of building extra-
heavy caliber naval guns in the order of 18 or 24 inches, and
larger. These were intended for battleships which were to be
the largest ever built and could meet any possible demand.
Hitler wanted his ships to be singly superior to anything
afloat.
Hitler ordered further designs in order to demonstrate the
consequences of such a trend towards the gigantic. Guns of 20
inch caliber were considered.<25>
In 1943, H-43 design was proposed which retained the basic
powerplant of the 1942 design, but which again grew in size.
Although the basic armor arrangement of the 1942 variant was
retained, addittional protection was afforde below decks against
torpedoes and mines. BISMARCK and TIRPITZ had shown a
remarkable capacity to sustain damage and this trait was built
upon by increasing the minute compartmentation of the H-43
design, as well as further improving the torpedo protection
system by another increase in beam.
H-CLASS, 1943<26>
Displacement:(tons)(1)
Design: 109,246 (111,000 metric)
Full Load: 118,104 (120,000 metric)
Length:
Waterline: 1,082'
Beam: 157'6"
Draft:
Design: 39'5"
Full Load: 42'
Armament:
Main Battery: 8 20-inch (508mm) guns 4 x 2
Secondary: as "H-42"
Anti-Aircraft: as "H-42" except, 40 20mm
Armor: as "H-42"
Propulsion: as "H-42"
Speed:
Maximum & Overload: 31 knots
Range: as "H-42"
(1) Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; lists the
displacements as 111,000 and 120,000 Long Tons.
Further increases in torpedo protection characterized the final
design effort, H-44. Naval architects felt the torpedo to be
the dominate threat to a capital ship and took unprecedented
steps to proof the ship against this weapon. These added
measures would have rendered the ship able to withstand repeated
hits even from the expected allied torpedoes with larger
warheads. It probably would have required repeated hits,
similar to those that sank YAMATO and MUSASHI, to cripple H-
44.<27>
The added threat by non-contact explosions close aboard were
addressed by deepening the innerbottom structure. This action
was taken in light of the mine damage done to TIRPITZ by British
midget submarines on 22 September 1943 as she lay at anchor in
Altenfjord, Norway.
Considerations were made to further thicken the deck armor to
add protection against bombs, but these plans changed when
TIRPITZ was sunk in a RAF bombing raid. She capsized at anchor
in Tromso Fjord, on 12 November 1944 when struck by three 12,000
lb. "Earthquake" bombs filled with 5,600 lb of Torpex (one was a
dud).<28> Designers realized it was hopeless to defend against
bombs of this size and all work to improve the "H" class deck
armor ended.
H-CLASS, 1944<29>
Displacement:(tons)
Design:(1) 128,930 (131,000 metric)
Full Load: 139,264 (141,500 metric)
Length:
Waterline: 1,133'
Beam: 169'
Draft:
Design: 41'6"
Full Load: 44'4"
Armament: as "H-43"
Armor: as "H-43"
Propulsion: as "H-43"
Speed: Maximum & Overload: 30 knots
Range: as "H-43"
(1) Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; lists the
displacements as 131,000 and 141,500 Long Tons.
While no radar was specified in the original plans, these ships
certainly would have been carried it in some form of fire-
control and search duties.<30>
Those readers familiar with the lines of BISMARCK, can imagine
the appearance of these "H" designs, by picturing a lengthened
BISMARCK, or TIRPITZ, with a second funnel. Aside from that
difference, the similarities are striking.
Would these studies have resulted in a successful battleship
design? The answer is pure speculation. While it was
physically possible to construct such large ships and even
larger, as was shown in the decades that followed,<31> it was
entirely impractical for Germany to contemplate the construction
of such monsters during the war. Even if construction was
successful, H-44, for example, would have been too large to
enter any existing German port!
Would these ships have been effective had they been built? How
would they have operated without proper air cover? Look what
happened to HMS PRINCE OF WALES, HMS REPULSE, YAMATO and MUSASHI
when caught in open waters without air cover.
There have been reports that the "H" class ships were serious
proposals and naval officials did plan to actually build them,
but there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence that any
design after H-42 was serious. H-43 and H-44 appear to have
been merely shipbuilding studies which were conducted to obtain
some idea about the possibilities for the future... And for the
Third Reich, the future was nonexistent.
If any reader has questions, comments or especially corrections,
please drop me a message.
MICHAEL HANSEN
72667,1530
<1> Robert O. Dulin, Jr., and William H. Garzke;
Battleships (Axis and Neutral Battleships in World
War II); p.312
<2> ibid; p.208, 209
<3> It can become confusing when discussing the
displacement (weight) of a vessel, because of the
necessity of defining the term "ton." At least three
different "ton" measurements are used around the world,
and we must determine which one applies.
Short (US) ton = 2,000 pounds
Metric ton = 2,204 pounds
Long (English) ton = 2,240 pounds
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 53rd. Edition,
1972-73; p.F-274
In this article, the Long, or English ton will be used.
<4> Definition: standard displacement is the weight of
the empty hull, armor, other protective equipment,
propulsion plant and auxiliary machinery, all weapons
and ammunition plus crew and their personal effects,
plus washing and drinking water, excluding any fuel or
boiler feed water.
Siegfried Breyer; Battleships and Battle Cruisers,
1905-1970; p.10
<5> Definition: maximum displacement (full load) is the
standard displacement plus maximum fuel, consumable
stores, equipment, feed water, inventory as well as all
reserves.
ibid
<6> Robert D. Ballard; The Discovery of the Bismarck; p.22
<7> The immune zone is defined as the range band, within
which the armor of a ship is theoretically immune to
penetration. In this example, at ranges of less than
20,000 meters, shells will have sufficient energy to
penetrate the vertical armor plates, but will
strike at too shallow an angle to penetrate the
horizontal deck armor. At ranges greater than
30,000 meters, shells plunging at steep angles will
have sufficient energy to penetrate horizontal deck
plates, but will bounce off vertical plates. Within
this zone, neither plates can be penetrated (again,
theoretically).
Robert O. Dulin, Jr., and William H. Garzke, Jr.;
Battleships (United States Battleships in World War
II); p.12
<8> 14.96"/52 refers to the bore of the gun (14.96") and
the barrel length in calibers (52). One caliber
equals the bore diameter. In this case, the gun
barrel is 14.96" x 52 = 778", or 64'10" long.
Battleships (United States); p.229
<9> Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; p.111-112,
169, 193, 227
<10> Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; p.84
<11> Battleships (Axis and Neutral); p.313
<12> Named "Gustav", it was carried on a special railway
mount and used to lay siege to Sevastopol in July
1942. There is some question as to how many 800mm
guns were built. Some references say one, others
say two.
The largest caliber gun ever constructed was
the "Tsar Pushka," (King of Cannons) built in the 16th
century with a bore of 36.2" and now on display in the
Kremlin, Moscow. In World War II, the US Army tested
a 36.25" mortar, called "Little David." It never
progressed beyond the experimental stage.
Guinness Book of World Records, 1991; p.543
<13> Battleships (Axis and Neutral); p.39
<14> ibid; p.314
<15> Battleships (United States); p. 228
<16> Battleships (Axis and Neutral); p.329
<17> Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; p.307
<18> Battleships (Axis and Neutral); p.315
<19> ibid; p.316
<20> ibid; P.319
<21> ibid; p.320
<22> ibid
<23> ibid; p.322
<24> ibid; p.323
<25> Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970; p.314
<26> Battleships (Axis and Neutral); p.323
<27> ibid; p.326
<28> The normal 12,000 lb. bomb, called "Tallboy", was
filled with 3,800 lb. of TNT. Torpex has twice the
explosive power of TNT and was normally used in
torpedoes.
ibid; p.272, 275
<29> ibid; p.323
<30> ibid, p.337
<31> The largest warship(s) are the US "Nimitz" class of
nuclear powered aircraft carriers, with full load
displacements of up to 100,846 tons (short, metric or
long?) and a length of 1,092 feet overall.
USS Enterprise is longer, at 1,102 feet overall.
The largest ship of any type is the "Happy
Giant", an oil supertanker of 1,504 feet overall
length, 225'11" in beam and she has a deadweight
load of 622,511.7 tons (short, metric or long?).
\Guinness Book of World Records, 1991; p.256, 257
Converted to plain ASCII and reformatted by:
Larry W. Jewell
jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu